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Monday, October 1, 2012

Stark Contrasts: Santa Ynez vs. Hollywood

Santa Ynez: When you see your neighbors, they say things like, "We're going down to see the big turtle that came up in the crick last night." (No joke, one of our neighbors seriously said this to us. Even the "crick" instead of "creek" part. It was rad.)Hollywood: When you see your neighbors, they say things like, "Can you believe they found a severed head on the Canyon Park hiking trail?"

Santa Ynez: The swath of unlandscaped dirt and weediness in front of the house by the street is 1500 square feet.Hollywood: The entire house is 1250 square feet.

Santa Ynez: You go for a morning run and a man who is in his front yard gardening not only says "good morning" but asks you how you are and tells you to have a good day.Hollywood: You go for a morning run and the girl walking her dog talking on her cell phone gives you an irritated look when you try to pass her on the sidewalk.

Santa Ynez: Sometimes you have to sit through a little traffic to get to your favorite winery.Hollywood: You have to drink wine every night to deal with the daily traffic.

Santa Ynez: You see so many stars at night, you feel a bit like a tourist in your own state.Hollywood: So many out-of-state tourists are looking at the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sometimes it's difficult to get down the street.

Santa Ynez: The houses on either side of you are barely visible from different angles of the yard.Hollywood: The houses on either side of you are so close, you're fairly certain the whole cul de sac has seen you walking around in your bra and underwear.

Santa Ynez: You hear the song "Magic" from Xanadu while you're shopping in Home Depot. You quickly decide they should have named the CA Central Coast "Shangri-La."Hollywood: You see an amazing small stage production of Xanadu on a Friday night. You're pretty sure they built the set with stuff they bought at Home Depot.

Santa Ynez: Your sweet neighbors notice one of your sprinklers was going all day, so they go turn it off and call you, offering to reprogram the timer for you because they know how busy you are.Hollywood: Your neighbors come to the door to tell you one of your sprinklers has been shooting water straight up and while they're at it, they add in a, "Honey, you need to get out here and weed!" even though it's 2 months before your wedding.

Santa Ynez: You wish you had more free time to work on your house because you love it so much.Hollywood: You wish you had more money so you could pay off the difference between your house's value and its purchase price so you could sell it.

Santa Ynez: You pay $13 to eat something called a "BBQ Sundae" that looks like this:

Hollywood: You pay $13 to eat 3 pieces of cheese and some bread because the wine bar is close to where you're seeing Book of Mormon (which ruled, by the way).

Santa Ynez: You remember when you longed to live there and can't believe the wish finally came true.Hollywood: You remember how much you wished you'd live there, and now that you do, you feel like you're long over it and want to live somewhere more peaceful.

Santa Ynez: You see your future there and feel sad every time you leave.Hollywood: You wish the leaves would hurry up and change so you could be one season closer to starting your future.

This is one of your best posts I think, or maybe it just resonates with me because one month ago we moved from an apartment in the city center to a house near the mountains... and I am loving our new house and yard and neighborhood *so much*. I lol-ed at the Home Depot one: I have been spending a lot of time there lately too! So glad you are enjoying your new place, and that it all worked out for you :-)